as it stands right now the white house has end kaltsed it will not respond to speaker boehner's offer unless the gop agrees to raise top marginal tax rates. the president did do a little explaining over twitter yesterday. asked, is there a minimum ratio of revenue increases to spending cuts that you're looking for or simply a balanced approach? the president responded -- don't expect 100% my budget, room to negotiate. if you include $1 trillion plus in cuts already made, rough balance between revenue and cuts does trick. i'm having a hard time translating the president's tweets. translation, i won't get everything i want but at least -- but i want at least as much in revenue as in cuts. he was asked as a homeowner, i worry deductions for homeowners are at risk. is that the case. the president replied breaks for middle class important for families and economy. if top rates don't go up, danger middle-class deductions get hit. the gop is holding middle-class taxes hostage i'm not. joining me is msnbc policy analyst and columnist for "the washington post" ezra klein. it is great to have y